Japan Day 1….Shibuya and Harajuku!

So…day 1 in Japan started with a train ride from Osaka to Tokyo, which wasn’t bad at all because the trains in Japan are amazing. They are well air-conditioned (a necessity in the sweltering Japanese summer), roomy, clean and very comfortable. Josh and I agreed that one of the things we are happiest about from our trip to Japan was that it taught us to fully relax and be able to sleep soundly on public transportation.

Japanese Railroads are amazing….the cars and super clean and roomy…perfect for napping!

After the train in to Tokyo and getting settled in at our Air BNB room, we took the subway in to explore Shibuya. We found the Hachiko statue, dedicated to the small Akita who waited everyday for his owner who had passed. Next, we crossed the infamous Shibuya Crossing and ventured forth to see what Shibuya had to offer. Shibuya was filled with different shops, big and small and vending machines filled with cold drinks were everywhere. Something that truly surprised me about Japan was the amount of people (female and male) walking around in traditional clothing. Many young women were walking around in Kimonos and there were many couples dressed in Kimonos strolling around Tokyo. I’m not sure if it was because there was a remembrance holiday the weekend we were in Japan, but either way I really enjoyed seeing them dressed in traditional clothing-right down to the wooden flip flops.

Crazy crowded subway station in Japan

Hanging out with Hachiko in Shibuya…not gonna lie, seeing this statue really made me miss my baby back in the States 😦

Getting ready to conquer Shibuya Crossing

Girls in Kimonos waiting to get into a club

After we wandered Shibuya we went to Harajuku, where again we saw many girls and guys in kimonos and again many, many stores to shop in. I was totally expecting to see the streets filled with Gwen Stefani-esque Harajuku girls, but mostly the streets were filled with tourists.

Shopping on one of the main streets in Harajuku

Well, hello there giant vampire bear

After we had explored the major streets we had some Japanese style curry at CoCo Curry (a chain of curry restaurants) and were surprised at the mild taste. Regardless, the dinner was delicious and really hit the spot after a long day of exploring and walking in the heat and humidity.